Remote Desktop Services: Home office in times of Corona

In these times of the Corona pandemic, more and more people are working from home, from the (colloquially known as) home office. Video conferencing with the furniture-house wall unit in the background now characterises everyday office life instead of face-to-face meetings at the conference table. What effects this type of work from home has and what development it is causing, you will find out in the following:

Home office on the rise

There isno disputing the advantages of home office in view of the global Corona crisis: colleagues do not infect each other and nature can also recover a little from some of the strains of the past years because many cars stay in the garages. The companies themselves also save money this way, without productivity suffering. If politicians have their way, it could stay that way. Lower Saxony’s Health Minister Carola Reimann (SPD), for example, recently called on companies to increasingly let employees work on the move during the Corona crisis. Commuters should – if possible – stay at home, contacts at the workplace should be minimised, infection risks reduced. Because „the pandemic has not yet been conquered

„, said Reimann, who praised the concept of mobile working and appealed to „continue to use the good experiences of the last few months with mobile working“. More personal responsibility and the trust of the employer puts some employees in a good mood and increases productivity. Many can also better plan their daily lives with their families and enjoy more flexible working hours and short commutes.

Cons

However, the increased personal responsibility is not for everyone. More stress, longer working hours and a fluid transition between leisure and work can have psychological and physical consequences. Loneliness due to a lack of personal exchange can even end in depression in the worst case. Since every third German spends more time in front of a screen due to Corona, eye problems are also

on the rise. Especially in mobile working, however, the working conditions are often not ideal: smaller screens, poor lighting, awkward sitting positions, etc. are too often the order of the day. Every third person who spends more time in front of monitors even says that his or her vision felt worse during corona time. While hardly any companies themselves have suffered serious productivity losses as a result of mobile working, says Michael Karrenberg, regional director of risk services at Altradius. „However, due to the increase in mobile working, business activities will shift in location.“ This, he says, is leading to increasing uncertainties, especially in those industries whose sales depend on the numerous commuters to the cities and office workers.

Remote Desktop Services - Access from outside

To enable employees to work from home, employers don’t necessarily have to give them a computer to take home. It is also possible to have secure access to the work computer located in the company’s office. The prerequisites for this are that the computer in the office is switched on and uses a Pro or Enterprise version of Windows 10. Remote Desktop Services (RDS), also known as Terminal Services on Windows Server 2008 and earlier versions, is a Microsoft Windows component that allows users to take control of a remote computer or virtual machine over a network connection. RDS are Microsoft’s implementation of a thin-client architecture, where Windows software and the entire desktop of the computer running RDS is accessible to any remote client computer that supports the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). This can increase flexibility and data security in the enterprise through a centralised desktop solution, while relieving the IT department of the burden of managing desktops and applications. A Client Access Licence (CAL ) is required for each user and each device that connects to an RDS host. For example, there is the Windows Server 2019 Remote Desktop Services 5-user cal. or the Windows Server 2016 Remote Desktop Services 5-user cal. Because Microsoft is moving more and more functionality to the cloud, particularly towards Microsoft Azure and Office 365, many administrators are increasingly concerned that features will be removed with each next server release. However, as Remote Desktop Services (RDS) will also be available in Windows Server 2019

, even including new features, there is no reason for companies to worry in this area.

Beware of hackers

Open remote desktop services and standard ports can become a gateway for cybercriminals if there are problems with the configuration here. For example, ransomware such as CrySiS and SamSam can target businesses through open RDP ports, both through brute force and dictionary attacks. Any outward-facing device that is connected to the internet should therefore be secured by a multi-layered protection

to ward off access attempts such as a brute force attack. Furthermore, it becomes more difficult to keep track that all devices and software have been provided with all updates. Security solutions that protect against RDP attacks are therefore becoming indispensable for companies to protect themselves, their data and their employees against cyber-crime. What is particularly critical is that vulnerabilities in RDP are often unknown and only become public after they have been exploited.

Can the classic office still be saved?

In the second and third quarters, companies in Germany rented only half as much new office space in each of the seven largest cities as the long-term average. This is according to market data from the large international broker Savills. According to the data, instead of one million, only half a million square metres were newly let per quarter. However, this by no means means means that because of this trend towards home office work, companies no longer need offices across the board. “ Many companies currently prefer to extend their current leases,“ says Matthias Pink, head of market observation at the German subsidiary of the British company. The vacancy rate has risen for the first time since 2010, but only slightly. In the top seven cities, more office space is currently let than at the beginning of the year, says Pink. In the future, many companies may need less office space because employees are increasingly working from home, says economic researcher Ralph Henger of the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW). However, this will not be possible in a one-to-one ratio, because employees will probably be distributed among larger offices after the pandemic than before. „You may need more space per employee again to comply with distance regulations and the like,“ he says

, looking to the future.

Header image: © shintartanya, stock.adobe.com